OCTOBER 26, 2015Belief: Tales from Planet Earth returns to explore faith, science and environmentTheir choice of topics could hardly have been more prescient. In late 2014, the organizers of Tales from Planet Earth decided the 2015 film festival would explore how belief shapes environmental perceptions and action. Within months, Pope Francis announced a forthcoming encyclical on the environment. Published in May, the papal letter calls for swift, unified global action for the good of all and "our common home.”

OCTOBER 23, 2015Recent sightings: Ho-Chunk students visitNine high school students from Wisconsin's Ho-Chunk Nation visited a Native American effigy mound and the Tree of Peace on Observatory Hill on Oct. 23. The Nelson Institute and UW Arboretum's Earth Partnership Program hosted the group's one-day visit to campus.

OCTOBER 23, 2015Deadly fish virus still present in Wisconsin lakeIn May 2007, hundreds of freshwater drum — also known as sheepshead — turned up dead in Lake Winnebago and nearby Little Lake Butte des Morts, both inland lakes near Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The fish were splotched with red and their eyes were swollen and bulging.

OCTOBER 6, 2015Embrace the chaos: Predictable ecosystems may be more fragileWhen it comes to using our natural resources, human beings want to know what we're going to get. We expect clean water every time we turn on the tap; beaches free of algae and bacteria; and robust harvests of crops, fish and fuel year after year. As a result, we try to manage the use of our resources in a way that minimizes their variability.

SEPTEMBER 28, 2015Heat waves hit heat islands hardestExtreme summers like that of 2012 — which saw record temperatures in cities across the U.S. — may be atypical, but experts say they will return, especially as the planet warms under climate change. And as they do, cities will be especially vulnerable.